Advice needed - I've a 2007 Vogue SE and have cracked the glass in my passenger wing mirror

The glass is auto dimming as standard and I believe will cost circa £150 from a dealer

I can't decide whether its worth paying more than double for auto dimming glass or just replace with heated glass

May sound an odd question but I have rear privacy glass and have read that the auto dimming function doesnt really work because:

1) the system uses the sensor mounted in the rear view mirror
2) glare from headlights behind is much reduced by the privacy glass

(i.e. the wing mirrors do not auto dim enough because of the privacy glass effect on rear view mirror sensor)

Advice appreciated

I feel a bit silly asking the question and saying 'I have read...', but I've only owned the vehicle for three weeks and have not yet done a long night drive to form my own opinion on auto dimming wing mirrors...

Check the price with Dan @ Duckworths first as i think the newer ones price has dropped compaired to the pre 05MY


Craig

I think the auto-dimming mirrors take a whie to get used to. I have privacy glass and mine definitely dim at night. Took me a while to get used to it though, as it can hide fast moving cars with dim lights. Also the trend in Leeds to drive around with just your sidelights on has meant a few chavs have nearly got sideswiped by me! 
07 Supercharged - Still breaking her in!

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hi greame and welcome to the forum...

tbh , i dont think the fullfat suffers much from dazzling as its just that bit higher and wider than a normal saloon car ..i'd go for the cheaper option, but then i'm a cheapskate by heart..  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

The auto dimming does work well. Keep the car honest, the mirrors are available for less. Be patient, I paid £100 for mine inc postage from the bay of fleas. If its only cracked something will turn up, before you really need a replacement. I had one of those fit all self adhesive shiny plastic temporary ones till I got a replacement.

GreameC,

Welcome, I had the same thing recently except some low life stole one of mine while in an airport car park. Luckily they were so stupid they broke the electrical connectors off the mirror rendering it useless to them.

I tried shopping around and did find somewhere selling it for £75 (heated and photochromic) but I had already bought one from Dan! Yes, they are about £150 from a dealer.

It's worth getting the right one though, you'll appreciate it in winter. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Thanks for all the advice, I've bought a cheap, heated one as a temp fix as I can't stand having a cracked mirror!

I'll keep looking for an auto dimming glass in the hope I can get one for around £100 - it will eventually end up with the right glass in there as I want to keep the car original!

Recently my driver's side electrochomic wing mirror developed a leak. Air got in and 3 things happened - The blue/green fluid turned brown, a bubble formed across the top and the auto dimming stopped working. Luckily none of the corrosive, alkaline fluid got onto the paintwork. So a replacement was required.

A little google research showed these alternatives -
A) Glue-on replacement glass for $18. Non heated, no auto dim, and the fluid still leaks from the original mirror beneath.
B) Clip-in replacement flat glass for $22. Non heated, no auto dim, original mirror removed.
C) Clip-in replacement flat glass with heating for $24. No auto dim, original mirror removed.
D) Clip-in replacement flat glass with heating and dispersive anti-glare coating for $26. Glare reduction, original mirror removed.
E) Clip-in replacement flat glass with heating and electrochromic fluid for $220. Original Part. Full replacement. Expensive.
F) Clip-in replacement curved glass with blind spot section, with heating for $25. No auto dim, greatly extended field of view, original mirror removed.
G) Clip-in replacement curved glass with blind spot section, with heating and dispersive anti-glare coating for $28. Glare reduction, greatly extended field of view, original mirror removed.

I chose G) and am extremely happy with it. The anti-glare works day and night and the extra wide view completely eliminates the blind spot for at least 3 car lengths back. The slight curve does introduce a little distortion and the light blue colour alters reflections a little, but you forget about all that after a day or two.

I regularly tow a large, wide caravan. In the past I fitted extra, extension mirrors outside the wing mirrors to be able to see (just!) following vehicles, then tilted the wing mirrors down and inward to show the lane location of the front corners and front wheels of the caravan. The new, curved mirrors don't have to be moved! I get a view of the corners and wheels at the bottom of the mirror, vehicles in adjacent lanes in the middle and my extension mirrors are aimed straight back to show distant vehicles approaching much more clearly. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT !!!

Here is the procedure -
Tilt the mirror to show the road below, that is top of mirror out of housing towards rear.
2 pry bars under mirror, raise up 6mm and pull out of tilt plate.
Un-clip electrochomic connector from mirror backing plate. Undo connector.
Pull 2 heater connectors off lugs on rear of mirror

Clean interior of housing (so that tape will stick).
Tape electrochomic connector to housing where it won't interfere with mirror tilting
Push 2 heater connectors onto lugs on rear of mirror (may need compressing first for snug fit).
Offer up mirror to tilt plate and push downward 6mm into tilt plate.
Carefully tilt mirror to usual position. Push downwards some more if not at correct position to fit into housing.
Adjust for best view.

bye.

Follow up after 12 months -
Had 1 little problem after a few weeks. The mirror glass is 'attached' to its mounting plate with cheap, non-weather proof, double sided tape. the mirror started to come loose. So I took it off, scrapped away the tape and used a little epoxy to make a permanent fix. Been fine ever since.
I suggest that everyone who buys a cheaper replacement looks at the 'attachment' before fitting and proactively applies a waterproof glue from the start.

bye again. 2003 TD6, EGR delete, vortex crankcase breather update, performance chip, UHF 2 way, Android head unit, crash camera on dash, always-on rear view camera to mirror screen, LED DRL`s, Electric trailer brake controller. FSR replaced. Pulling 3T caravan all about Australia

Last edited by bgennette on 16th Aug 2019 6:23am. Edited 1 time in total

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic48206.html

May be of interest? John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
GAP iiD BT
2003 Discovery TD5 Auto, Nanocom Evolution - gone to a new home!
MasseyFerguson 152 - No electronics!! - Sold